


Like They Would in a Novel

by luucarii



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M, Pre-Fire Emblem Fates, books books books
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 10:25:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12839208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luucarii/pseuds/luucarii
Summary: They communicated through books, until their story became a novel on its own.





	Like They Would in a Novel

They communicated through books. There was always a novel one would be reading that would tell the other their thoughts.

 

They would commonly meet in the library. As kids, it was their sanctuary whenever Leo visited the Northern Fortress. He’d steal her away from Camilla who was always trying to smother her in hugs and kisses and rush her downstairs, through those musky wooden doors. She’d bounce inside, eyes dancing left and right in an attempts to find a book that caught her attention. Leo, meanwhile, would light the fireplace with his tome, more so to show off his improvement with magic which never failed to leave Corrin starry-eyed.

 

She would find a book, most often one on dragons or the retellings of Nohrian fairy tales and rush toward the large couch where Leo would already be making himself comfortable with a pillow and blanket. Once she joined him, arms and legs disappearing under the blanket as she huddled close to him for warmth, Leo would grab the book out of her hands and give it a critiquing glance to tease her. He never admitted it to her but he always loved the books she picked out.

 

Leo would look down at her and ask if she was ready, to which she would always respond with a nod and an eager smile. She loved hearing him read to her. He would be a boring narrator, but every line of dialogue he spoke he became the character. Corrin could never imagine Leo being an actor — with his arrogance, no way he’d last long — but it was the little things that made their time in the library worthwhile.

 

Midway through whatever book he would be reading, he’d find a sleeping Corrin clinging to his arm. By then, Leo would already feel drowsy and would fall asleep with her, the sound of crackling fire always being the last thing he’d hear. They’d wake up to Camilla, scolding Leo for making Corrin fall asleep on a couch but Corrin would always jump in, send Camilla that childish grin and an exaggerated, “but I just wanted to spend time with Leo,” and Camilla would forget all about her lecture.

 

As they grew up, he would always find her by the fireplace with a book in hand. When sword practice with Xander made her weary, she’d drown herself in stories of knights and fairies and Nohrian legend. He’d sit beside her, asking how her day was and more often than not, the conversation ended with Leo picking up where her book left off and the two falling asleep on the concrete floor beside the fire. He’d make sure that she was close to him, and eventually found himself waking up with her head in his chest.

 

Even when Leo was officially enlisted in the Nohrian army, he never forgot his older sister’s love for books. He’d return to the fortress after weeks of being away with stories of the outside world, of Notre Sagesse and Cyrkensia, new novels bought from each town he visited. While he would be gone, he’d scribble little notes of each town — _“Cyrkensia is home to the famous Nestrian Opera House. The performers there are quite talented. I’d love to take you one day.”_ — and hide them in the pages of each book he’d buy for her. Corrin often reread the notes beside the fire with hopeful wishes that she would be able to leave the fortress soon.

 

Notre Sagesse held novels of peace and love, of family and friendship. She read them whenever she missed her siblings — the war with Hoshido had been growing fiercer each and every day, they were rarely around. Cyrkensia held books of deep-rooted passion and romance, of seduction and courting. She found herself reading them on the nights Leo snuck away from Xander to go visit her. She couldn’t help comparing the commoner, desperate to make his impression on the lady of nobility, to Leo with how much he loved to impress her.

 

She missed him often. His novels weren’t enough to keep her company.

 

Only when he saw her reading an untouched book, with the spine barely cracked, did he realize something was wrong.

 

By then, Corrin was nearing her eighteenth birthday, Leo having only just turned seventeen. She grew stunningly, like the perfectly molded protagonist of a novel. Her smile caught the attention of many, her laugh contagious. She was the gorgeous school girl he read of in books, where every guy would fall head over heels in love with her, desperate for a glance or even a “hello.” But Leo would also be the protagonist in that story — her love interest, the one who knew every flaw, the one who saw every tear, the one who loved her for her heart.

 

On the day she finally turned, Leo surprised her with towers and towers of novels. Most were from Nohrian authors, some from Nestrians but the ones that seized her attention were the Hoshidan authors, the stories told with fresh sunlight and breezes of cherry blossoms. She didn’t bother to ask how he got them, her excitement took over and led the way to a day of her nose being buried in a book, eyes dancing across the page as if she had been sucked into the world and was living out every sentence.

 

When night had fallen, Leo had pulled Corrin away from her latest read and sat her next to him in front of the fireplace. The fire was faint but warm, quiet yet beautiful, an almost perfect scene. He spoke first of their childhood together, of his secret resentment for her as all she did was suck the attention from their siblings, then of their love of books and stories. He compared her to the likes of fairy tales, calling her a princess locked away in a castle and how all he wanted was to set her free, to see her experience the outside world with him. He confessed his love for her, quick and easy as if it was nothing yet his heart still pounded in his ribs.

 

Like the protagonist would be, she was speechless.

 

He compared her eyes to roses sparkling from after rain dew. He compared her voice to music, the quiet faint thumping of piano keys. He used every damn metaphor he could think of in that moment, hoping it would be enough.

 

When Corrin spoke, she spoke in whispers, hushed quiet mumbles. Leo held his tongue, he could barely hear her over his heart beating over and over in his ears. Her cheeks were dusted pink, eyes focused sorely on him. He silenced whatever few words she was managing to stutter out.

 

They kissed like they would in a novel. Soft. Quiet. Innocent. Perfect. The world melted behind them. It was a dreamful bliss. Her skin was smooth to the touch, his movements quick yet gentle. 

 

Their kiss told a story, one of two adoptive siblings and their desperate love for each other.

**Author's Note:**

> this was meant to center around fireplaces and somehow it went to books?? 
> 
> i don't know where my mind is half the time.
> 
> thank you for reading!


End file.
